From the Wall Street Journal, December 21:
Net farm income is on track for a near 50-year high, thanks to increased prices for goods ranging from wheat to milk
High prices for crops and livestock are fueling a boom in the U.S. Farm Belt, making farmers, ranchers and agricultural companies rare winners as the broader American economy softens.
U.S. net farm income is expected to surge to $160.5 billion this year, boosted by increased prices for farm goods ranging from wheat to milk, according to a key U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast in December. If realized, farm income would reach the highest level since 1973 in inflation-adjusted dollars, marking a sharp recovery from an agricultural recession that battered farmers and their suppliers during the past decade.
U.S. grain producers have benefited this year as prices for crops including corn and wheat soared following Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, a major breadbasket nation. Poor weather in some growing areas also helped lift crop markets, and cattle ranchers have commanded higher prices for their animals as the U.S. herd shrank due to rising costs for feed and other goods.
Lynn Martz, who raises corn, soybeans and beef cattle with her husband Mike and other family members near Maple Park, Ill., said that while some farmers in other parts of the country struggled with poor weather, her fields produced record corn yields this year. “We were pretty fortunate,” she said. Buoyed by higher income, Ms. Martz said that the Martzes have been replacing the tractors, combines and planters the family uses across their approximately 6,700 acres.
The USDA expects farmers’ earnings to jump 14%, or nearly $20 billion, from 2021. Cash receipts for corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops are projected to climb 19%, while receipts for animals and animal products are forecast to rise 31% from last year, the USDA said, with increases due mostly to higher prices....
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